DVD Review – Charlie Brooker's Dead Set
E4’s Much Hyped Zombie Horror Lives up to Expectations
Nov 6, 2008
Zombie invasions have never been more bizarre, as the contestants of Big Brother become humanity’s last hope after being locked away in the house when the unexplained infection spread. Production runner Kelly (Jaime Winstone) leads the housemates as they try to fend of an increasingly hostile zombie attack.
Like a regular series of Big Brother, Dead Set has stupid names such as Space (Adam Deacon), middle-class oddity Joplin (the actor Kevin Eldon) and the obligatory gay stereotype, Grayson (Raj Ghatak) - who turns from camp nonsense to one the most amiable people once the invasion begins.
More 28 Days Later than Scary Movie
Dead Set is a very British spoof but one that has a love for its parent genre and doesn’t downplay the horror, unlike the insipid Scary Movie franchise. It has its comic moments, the scenes with Pippa (Kathleen McDermott) and producer Patrick (Andy Nyman) are reminiscent of Nathan Barley, but it doesn’t discard plot or realism for the sake of the gags. It is also moving at times and whilst the “do you kill your infected friend” cliché was overused, it didn’t delve too much into melodrama.
Actually it has more in common with 28 Days Later, due to the feel of isolation it creates, that the zombies move and act more like the rage infected from people from that film and that there’s more going on than meets the eye. And like 28 Days Later (which isn’t technically a zombie movie by definition) it also happens to be very good.
Andy Nyman, Elizabeth May Brice and the actor Kevin Eldon steal the Show
Ultimately it’s a story about people and the human psyche, much like George Romero’s films. Yes it has zombies and violence but they take a back set to the fantastic array of characters that become darker and twisted as the series progresses.
Even though the predominantly young cast are on screen for the majority of the time the most experienced actors; Nyman, Eldon and Elizabeth May Brice, do steal the show. Eldon once again demonstrates just why he’s one of Britain’s best actors, whilst Nyman’s Patrick is the most vile and unlikeable TV character since EastEnders’ Trevor Morgan.
Be Warned, Dead Set is Gory and Disturbing but for a Reason
The Dead Set DVD release has a BBFC 18 certificate for a reason; it is very gory, perhaps one of the bloodiest programmes ever broadcast on British TV. And so it should be, anything else just wouldn’t have worked. The scene where Patrick meets a rather fitting end requires quite a strong stomach.
The story builds up slowly and carefully, like every good zombie tale should, and not to give too much away but the ending is one of the bleakest final moments you will ever see. It goes without saying that Dead Set won’t be getting a second series.
More than anything it demonstrates Brooker’s love/hate relationship with Big Brother shows. On the one hand you get the sense that he dislikes most of the vacuous souls that enter every year but he also has a fondness for the mayhem they create.
DVD Extra Features
For a DVD that has been released so soon after the series run on TV (something that hopefully becomes standard in future years) it’s certainly not vanilla or rushed. In fact there’s 60 glorious minutes of behind-the-scenes docs, interviews and deleted scenes.
What you learn is how Charlie got the idea, how the stomach churning effects are made and that Andy Nyman is a genuinely hilarious person. Maybe that last one isn’t too much of a surprise.
Dead Set is available on DVD from all good (and bad) stores at various prices depending on where you get it from.
- Starring Kelly Winstone, Andy Nyman, Kevin Eldon
- Directed by Yaan Demange
- Written by Charlie Brooker
- Running time: 141 minutes
- Extras: Interviews with writer Charlie Brooker and director Yaan Demange, Behind the scenes featurettes, Special effects featurettes, On set with Dead Set, Deleted and Extended Scenes
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